


Buy A Heart

by NeoFruity (orphan_account)



Category: Big Hero 6 (2014)
Genre: A lot of gender dysphoria most likely, Drug trafficking, Human Trafficking, M/M, Trans!Hiro, Weird plot where revealing information only brings more questions, YEAAAAA, Yakuza AU, bad stuff man, based in the Kanto area, dont make contracts with snakes man, organised criminal activity, tadashi and hiro are unrelated, very dark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-14
Updated: 2015-10-19
Packaged: 2018-04-26 10:41:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5001601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/NeoFruity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Perhaps it was a mistake, signing a contract with vipers. That's what they were, vipers, just cold blooded reptiles that felt no remorse, no nothing. They slithered around like serpents, consuming everything like the greedy souls they were.<br/>It was unfortunate.<br/>But unfortunate is the way life goes. Unfortunate is how the snakes find their prey. Unfortunate is how two very lost souls manage to mend each other from the tiny shards left behind.<br/>This story is unfortunate.<br/>But that's the way story goes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue - The Red Vipers and Their Victim

 

The clan was known as the _Akai-Hebi - the Red Snakes_. And they were brutal, completely uncompassionate. They slithered around like serpents, consuming everything like the greedy souls they were.

And they were clever, oh yes. The _Oyabun_ had a way with words, they he could talk you into selling your soul to the devil himself, and you wouldn't have ever known. He was completely ruthless, Hamada Akira. That was what he was, that was how he lived. There was no tolerance for weakness in his small kingdom. Many would liken him to a dictator, had they found the courage to do so.

So it was no surprise when the father of the Takachiho family was so easily swindled into selling all he had for the price of a building. Mind you, he was not fully understanding of the contract presented before him. He did not intend to sign himself into constant debt.

13 years down the road, he and his family would pay the ultimate price. He headed home, entirely ignorant of the fact that he had been cheated, tricked, and indebted.

He was not aware of Hamada Akira's sneer as he bowed in respect and left the room.

He was not aware of the crooked chuckle the escaped Hamada Akira's lips.

He was not aware of the way he addressed his five sons, sitting quietly behind him in reverence.

"You see, my sons? You see how easy it is to fool these common folk? I expect you all to learn the art of language, and how to use it to your advantage. It is part of your duty to the clan, am I understood?"

Five sets of lips in unison, too loud to be a whisper but too quiet to be a voice, all spoke in unison. "I understand, sir."

Takachiho never saw the soft brown eyes of the eldest, pleading for him to run while he could.

Worst of all, Takachiho never saw the horrible fate placed upon his only child's shoulders, a path carved in brittle stone for the child to follow, a path of weeds and burrs, briars of thorns and carpets of needles.

It is unfortunate.

But unfortunate is the way life goes.

Unfortunate is how the snakes find their prey.

Unfortunate is how two very lost souls manage to mend each other from the tiny shards left behind.

This story is unfortunate.

But that's the way story goes.


	2. Stripped of All

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read the tags, I will not be giving away chapter content and there will be no sensitive content warning at the beginning of chapters.

**_\---_ **

**_But still you stumble, feet give way_ **

**_Outside the world seems a violent place_ **

**_But you had to have him, and so you did  
_ **

**_Some things you let go in order to live  
_ **

**_While all around you, the buildings sway  
_ **

**_You sing it out loud, "who made us this way?"_ **

**_I know you're bleeding, but you'll be okay  
_ **

**_Hold on to your heart, you'll keep it safe  
_ **

**_Hold on to your heart  
_ **

**_\---_ **

It's always the simplest days that end the worst. The skies are perfectly blue and the temperature is just right - it would have been perfect, if it weren't for the polluting smell of blood seeping into the hardwood floors...

Hiro's fourteenth birthday was no exception.

It was the pounding on the door that truly set the chill in Hiro's bones. Shouts of "Open the door!" could be heard, even from upstairs. His father's face hardened as he went to see what they wanted.

Hiro was peaking out the back window, examining the two black clad men demanding entrance. His mother's face paled and she carefully lead him away from the window.

"Hiro, run and fill this vase with water for me, please." She handed him a large, turquoise blue vase, and ushered him towards the back with a small smile. Hiro thought her behavior peculiar but did as he was told, taking the vase to the tap outside on the side of the house.

He spent five minutes crouched down, watching the water spiral inside the dark clay cavern, balancing on the balls of his feet.

His thoughts wandered to the men and what they could want, he'd never seen them before, but the looked important. A red snake had adorned the lapel on their coats, and they both wore dark sunglasses to disguise their features.

Cold water running past his toes pulled him from his thoughts and he cursed and quickly turned the tap off, relieving the vase of some of its water so he could carry it.

Inside, he wiped his feet off on the carpet, wary of the water sloshing within the now heavy vase. His ears perked up at the sound of loud arguing in the kitchen, startling him slightly when a fist hit the table.

"You lie! I cannot possibly be two million, three hundred thousand yen in debt! I have never missed a payment in the 13 years I signed the contract!" His father's angry voice rebounded throughout the corridor, vibrating through the wooden structure.

"Mr. Takachiho, you are too far in debt and our master is angry. Fortunately he is gracious and is willing to offer you a choice.”

“A choice on what? The property should have been nearly paid off by now!”

Hiro stood frozen in the hall, cold vase in hand, unsure if he should enter or not. He edged forward slightly so he could hear the conversation better.

“He is willing to allow you to work for him to pay off the debt, or... He can evict you from your home. It is your choice."

 _Eviction?_ The word bounced around Hiro's skull painfully, sending a shiver down his back. He leaned against the hardwood paneling on the wall, perhaps trying to embrace his childhood home. He'd grown up here, this was his home, his life. He couldn't imagine being forced from it, the thought scared him entirely.

He treaded carefully, the bones in his feet pressing almost painfully hard into the floor, toes curled inward.

"Get out. Get out of my home, now." His dad was growling like a beast, a wolf protecting its pack, teeth bare and ready to sink into the threat before them.

A metallic click rang through the air, and then there was silence for a moment.

"I think you'll want to reconsider that decision. This is your last chance, Takachiho."

Hiro clenched his eyes shut and took a deep breath, hoping his father wouldn't do anything stubbornly stupid.

"I said leave my home, get out now!"

Hiro finally willed himself enough courage to walk around the corner quietly, only to be greeted by the grimmest of scenes.

One of the men stood, gun cocked and pointed at his father's face. His mother trembled a few feet away, ringing her hands together near her heart.

The man with the gun merely smirked and chuckled darkly.

"I'm sorry we couldn't come to an agreement..."

Hiro saw the trigger pulled. He saw his father flinch milliseconds before the bullet went straight through his forehead. He saw the carnage fly and his father fall to the ground, rendered completely lifeless in less than a second.

And then he heard the bang.

It was interesting, how deafening and paralyzing a noise could be. The world seemed to slow like everyone was moving through molasses. He stood motionless, eyes wider than saucers, watching his mother scream and attempt to help his long doomed father, watching the man cock the gun again and strike his mother through the throat.

Again and again, the man readied his weapon, firing into the lifeless bodies now bleeding out on the floor, dead set on the overkill.

The vase slipped through Hiro's fingertips and shattered in between his feet, water and shards flying everywhere. The sound seemed to send everything back into real time, rendering Hiro a shaky deer caught in the headlights of the oncoming traffic.

The vase breaking caught the men's attention and they turned to see Hiro backing away, completely shaken and crying in shock.

"Grab him!" The first one shouted. Hiro tried to flee but found himself tripping on his own two feet, betrayed by his own hysteria.

He screamed in protest as the other, shorter man was upon him, dragging him back to the dining room by his hair and upper right arm. Hiro kicked and screamed for all he was worth but it did little to help and only lead to the hilt of a gun hitting the back of his head with loud thud. He lay there stunned, completely immobile and vulnerable two the two thugs standing over him.

"What do you think? We could sell this one, for maybe two hundred thousand yen? Maybe even three hundred thousand?" The taller of the two spoke.

"He's a half breed, I doubt he'll fetch that high of a price." The shorter, seemingly more gruffer man rolled hiro over slightly and rolled up his shirt, examining Hiro's body with piercing eyes. He caught sight of the nude colored binder encasing Hiro's chest and the man smirked. "Look at that, he's actually a she."

"How big is she then? Depending on who's buying, she'll grab a higher price if she's younger." The taller of the two examined Hiro's jaw and neckline while the other took out a large knife and cut the tight material off of Hiro's skin. Hiro whined in protest but only received a harsh smack to the cheek. "Hush."

"She looks about thirteen or fourteen... We could say twelve but that's probably pushing it." Hiro felt a firm hand snake its way down his pants, feeling up his crotch, not caring in the slightest if it was painful or not. Hiro winced and recoiled from the cold, rough fingertips violating him. The man fondling him simply yanked his legs apart, continuing to feel him up before retracting his fingers a moment later.

“She’s probably a virgin too, that’ll raise the price… Some pervert’s gonna want a fresh toy to play with, this one’ll definitely work. Even if she’s a half breed, she’s still a pretty looking thing. I don’t see the boss having any issues with her.”

“Let’s take her in then, we can come back to sweep the rest of this place later, I’ve already got people headed down here to clean up this mess.” The taller man pointed at the cold, pale corpses lying a few feet away.

“Do you have any bindings with you by chance? She’s gonna come too soon, We don’t need her jumping out the car or anything.”

“There’s rope in the car, and sedative if you need it.”

The shorter man simply nodded, hoisting hiro up and throwing him over his shoulder like he weighed no more than a sack of chicken feed. Alarm bells were going full blast in Hiro’s brain but he could barely bring himself to lift and arm. He tried grabbing onto the paneling of the wall, twisting and wiggling to try and get the man to drop him. Nothing he did helped.

As soon as they got outside he started screaming at the top of his lungs, screaming for help from anyone. He was pulled down from the man’s shoulders and from there carried under his arm with one hand covering his mouth to keep him from screaming.

“Get the sedative! She’s becoming a pain to deal with.” He stopped and dropped Hiro on the ground, pressing his face into the concrete walk with one foot on his back. Hiro tried to wiggle out from under the man’s foot but the man would have none of it. Hiro only got a road rash for his troubles and a needle in the crook of his arm.

The drowsy feeling set in almost immediately, and though Hiro tried to be strong and fight it, he was no match for the large dosage of chemical sedative.

“Stop it! Just stop it! Please!” Hiro begged in between tears. His breathing became less labored and he started to settle, the foot on his back was removed. “Just let me die…” He whimpered. He vaguely felt himself being picked up and a few moments later several car doors slamming shut before blacking out entirely.

**  
  
**

\---

**  
  
**

Tadashi rubbed his eyes, trying to will away the migraine brewing in the front of his head. It was like this every day, either managing the finances, overseeing the drug traffic or the alcohol trade. Today was Thursday, so for Tadashi it meant overseeing the numerous list of people being readied to be auctioned off the following evening. He’d grown rather numb at this point to the clan’s activities, but some things never failed to make him slightly ill on the inside.

Maybe it was that the larger fraction of the people being sold were far younger than he was when he discovered the slave trade, maybe it was that each and everyone of them had death in their eyes, completely resigned to their fate. Maybe it was his conscience weighing like a thousand tons on his heart. He didn’t know.

What he did know was he had an entire clan to run, and there was no room for weakness. He slipped up once and all of his underlings would devour him like hungry sharks in a feeding frenzy. They were already wary of him as clan leader, even though he was the oldest and made to be the perfect successor to replace his father, they knew he was not at all like his father. He lacked the same piercing stare and crooked grin, his spirit did not radiate cruelty and greed like that of the great Hamada Akira.

No, Tadashi was a small bird amongst hungry vipers, and the only thing keeping him safe was his camouflage. They wanted him to be powerful and ruthless, but his heart begged for kindness and compassion.

He didn't think his opportunity to do so right under the noses of his subordinates would come so soon. As fate would have it, that's exactly what happened.

Tadashi looked to his second in command, Jin, for some sort of sympathy.

"Is that all of the... stock." He still wasn't used to calling them that. He hoped he never would be.

"It should be, it was an excellent turn out, in my opinion. Quite a profit to be made."

"Boss, Taro called in, he says he's got one more." Another spoke; Saburo was his name.

"What's keeping him?" Tadashi asked. He stepped forward slowly, back straightened and head held high, looking threatening as his father had taught him.

"He uh... Well... You'll see, he sent someone in with the catch just now." The man looked nervous, his eyes shifted from the door back to Tadashi.

The door slammed open before Tadashi had a chance to grill his subordinate for his lack of compliance. The room was filled with the shrill screaming and protests of an adolescent, no more than fourteen years of age, appearing female in sex. She was kicking and pounding the person underneath her as best she could with bound hands and feet, and she lacked any sort of clothing entirely.

"PUT ME DOWN! LET ME DOWN AND FIGHT ME, YOU COWARDLY PIECE OF SHIT!!" Tadashi raised an eyebrow at the child's outbursts, he hadn't seen anyone put up such a fight in a while.

The man walked up to Tadashi and set the writhing teen down on the floor rather harshly, yanking her head up by the wild mess of black hair that framed her delicate face.

"This one came from the Takachihos you sent us to speak with. The parents are taken care of, and we thought we might be able to sell this one for extra cash."

Tadashi looked down at the person in front of him. Several bruises on her arms, ribs, and legs told him she did not go down without a fight. One of her lips was split, and there was a large cut on her forehead, a trail of semi-dried blood falling down the right side of her face.

But it was the snarl on her face and the absolute rage in her eyes that really stuck out at Tadashi. Most of the people had long since given up, but this one was still fighting for her freedom. The was anger like he had never seen before in her eyes.

Tadashi leveled himself somewhat with the child, taking her jaw in his hand and inspecting her throat, neck, and forced open her mouth for signs of infection or disease.

"Information on her so far?" Tadashi asked, turning her head and inspecting the inside of her ears.

"Her name is Hiro, as far as we know. We haven't found much else. She puts up a fight though…” He rubbed his ear methodically, sparing a wary glance at the teen in front of him. “She bit my ear earlier.”

Tadashi continued inspecting Hiro, looking at her eyes, looking at her teeth, at her gums, and so on. _Forgive me_ , he thought to himself as he inspected her genitalia, cautiously making sure she didn’t carry any diseases or pests, young as she was. Though it wasn’t really his job, he supposed it was better that he did the inspection, rather than someone else. Hiro could end up worse than when she came in.

Tadashi looked back up at Hiro who was now glaring at him with the most incinerating stare. He brushed some of Hiro’s bangs out of the way and smirked.

“You’re a little trouble maker aren’t you?” Tadashi said, brushing her jaw softly. Hiro snarled and spat in Tadashi’s face. There was a moment of silence as everyone looked stunned at Hiro, who was still snarling at Tadashi like an animal. Tadashi however simply rose slowly, pulling the silk handkerchief from his pocket and wiping the saliva from his face.

“Put her in my private study.” Tadashi turned slowly. “Watch her too, I can’t have her making a mess out of my study.”

“But sir!” Jin called out after him. He looked to Hiro, and then back to Tadashi, who was making his way to the south wing of the house.

“Do as I say, I’ll be back in half an hour. I need to talk to someone first.” Tadashi closed the door without giving his subordinates another look.

**  
  
**

\---

**  
  
**

The door creaked slightly as Tadashi slid it open, depositing his shoes outside. He strode across the tatami floor to the large bed mat, where his mother lay, staring at the stars.

“So you finally pay me a visit after all this time? What’s kept you, son?” Her pale aging face held many weathered lines and creases. Her hair had long since started greying, yet she maintained a charm about her that never seemed to disappear.

“Mother, I saw you just this morning.” Tadashi smiled slightly, sitting cross legged and reaching to take the frail hand his mother held out.

“Yes, just this morning I saw you, playing outside near the koi pond with the ducks, singing a nursery rhyme you learned in school.” She looked sadly, taking in Tadashi’s sagging appearance. He didn’t have the same facade around her, even if he did, she could see right through to the frightened little boy she knew he was. “You look tired my son.”  
Tadashi sighed and looked out the window, looking at the orange-pink sky as the sun set. “I… I am tired. I’m always tired.”

“You need to rest then, son. You’ll make yourself ill like your father.” She shook her head and wrinkled her nose in disgust. “That fickle, greedy old man…” Tadashi chuckled at his mother’s recollection, knowing he too was not the only one who looked down upon him.

“Watch out, mother. I’ve got ears everywhere.” He stood, bowing slightly in respect to his mother.

“Don’t forget who first spanked you with the rod, it was not your father. You may be the boss around here, but you’ll never be the boss of me.”

“Of course not. My back still aches from that switching.” He pretended to hunch over, shaking his head at the old woman who was laughing softly.

“Oh, go on and get what you came here for. You know it’s long past my bedtime.” She shooed him off with a wave of her hand.

“Of course mother. Sorry for disturbing you, I just need one of your older garments.”

“In the bin, son. There’s smaller robes in there. I won't ask what you need them for.”

“Thank you mother, sorry again for disturbing you.” Tadashi stepped outside back into his shoes and slid the door shut so his mother could sleep.

**  
  
**

\---

**  
  
**

Tadashi stepped into his private study to find Jin diligently watching his desk, hands behind his back and legs spread slightly. He dismissed Jin with a small wave of his hand, hardly paying any mind as he bowed and exited. The silk robe hardly made a sound as Tadashi set it atop his desk, walking quietly around the desk to find Hiro asleep under it.

She looked tired, aged for such a young soul. The tear streaks down her face only added to the melancholy of her situation. The bindings for her feet had been removed, leaving only slight bruising in its place, yet her hands still remained tangled in the crimson red rope and she still lacked clothing of any kind.

Tadashi almost felt bad for waking her but she could sleep later, he had to explain her new home and the rules that came along with it.

Slowly, he shook her shoulder, interrupting what was probably much needed sleep. Hiro opened her eyes and looked groggily up at Tadashi. He was prepared for the panicked kick came, easily catching the child's foot in one hand. With the other he grabbed Hiro's bindings and pulled her out from under the desk. Hiro struggled and pulled, even tried shouldering Tadashi so she could get loose. She froze as soon as she heard the click of a blade snapping into place.

Tadashi gently cut through the rope holding Hiro's hands together, letting her stagger back and rub her wrists, trying to hide her naked body from him. He picked up the robe from his desk, unfolding it in a flurry of silk, obi falling to the floor as Tadashi put the garment around Hiro's shoulders. He picked up the remaining garment, handed it to Hiro and motioned to the chair in front of his desk.

"Sit." He commanded, watching as Hiro slowly pulled the sleeves of the robe on, fastening it in place with the obi before finally taking a seat, all the while watching Tadashi from the corner of his eye. Tadashi took his own seat across from Hiro, picking up his phone and calling someone to bring tea.

They spent a solid twenty minutes just staring at each other. Hiro looked at Tadashi distrustingly, her body language spelled defense, and she was sitting as far as physically possible from Tadashi as she could get. Tadashi however just studied Hiro. She was indeed quite a pretty little thing. Petite and wiry, she had the physical appearance of a pet, simply a lapdog meant to look pretty while Tadashi was speaking to people, privately or during meetings. He didn't really want Hiro doing anything else, he'd send her back home if he could but that wasn't an option.

They were interrupted by a knock on the wood panel door to which Tadashi told them to simply leave it outside, fetching the tray himself and setting it down without making so much as a cup rattle. He set a cup in front of Hiro and refused to speak until she had drunk at least half of it.

"How old are you?" He said, finally breaking the thick silence that was crawling down both their backs. Hiro looked away and refused to speak, hardening her features. " _I said; how old are you?_ " Tadashi really hated using his hard voice but he didn't see any other way to make Hiro comply.

"Fourteen, today." The words tumbled out of Hiro's lips softly, he still refused to look at Tadashi.

"Do you know why you're here?" Tadashi softened his voice slightly, knitting his fingers together in front of him.

"Your goons murdered my mom and dad and kidnapped me to sell me on the black market."

Tadashi chuckled slightly, the kid definitely had a bite on her.

"Well, yes, that is how it went, didn't it. Originally I sent those two men to recruit your dad, a.) because he signed a contract to live in the house you grew up in, and b.) because I'm looking to expand the clan in that area. I told Taro, the tall one, to get that property however he saw fit. I didn't realize this was how it would turn out. You better consider yourself lucky you didn't end up dead or sold to someone much worse than me."

"I'd rather be dead right now than talking to someone like you." Hiro was glaring at Tadashi now, gripping the cup in her fingers. Tadashi's features hardened, he leaned back in his chair.

"With that attitude you will be very soon. You need understand and come to terms with the fact that whether you like it or not, I own you now. So you are to behave and do exactly as you're told when you are told. You will not speak out of turn, you will only speak when spoken to, when called on, you are expected to arrive in an orderly and timely manner, you are to sit quietly during meals and not speak. Am I clear?"

Hiro looked away but nodded, wiping tears away with her sleeve and sniffing quietly. Tadashi's heart pained for her but he remained in his hard set facade.

"I'm giving you three days to mourn and adjust to this place as it will be your new home. I expect to see you in my office early on the fourth day so I can brief you on your job. Everyone here has a job and when they don't do their job there are severe consequences. You will be punished for tampering with things you aren't supposed to touch, stealing, lying, and breaking things. You are not to get in the way of someone else's job. Am I understood?"

Hiro nodded again, trying to hide her tears from Tadashi. He sincerely wanted to get up and hug the child, but he couldn't. Not yet.

"I will show you to your room then. Tomorrow you will be escorted back to your home to gather any of your belongings you want to keep. Uniform clothes will be provided for you. Any casual clothing you wish to wear in your free time should be gathered tomorrow. If you know of any important legal and medical documentation that your parents have, you are expected to turn any and all over to Jin, who will be escorting you. Otherwise the house will be sweeped and everything will be turned over to me."

He watched Hiro nod one final time before standing up and motioning for Hiro to follow. Hiro gathered herself timidly, wiping her eyes one last time before padding after Tadashi, his bare feet thudding across the wooden floor.

Jin was standing outside the office, Tadashi motioned for him to follow behind Hiro. There would be no running off this time.

"The complex is set up in a square, with offices, dining hall and master bedrooms on the west wing, storage and garages on the east, directly across from it, women's rooms in the south wing and men's in the north wing. They surround the courtyard which is divided in half by the baths, also divided by gender. The whole property is surrounded by a 12 foot wall, housing a large garden with several shrines and a large koi pond. There are smaller ponds in each of the courtyards as well as several more shrines. The only exit out of the complex is through the garages, and it is heavily monitored 24/7. Nothing goes in or out without my knowledge." He led Hiro through corridor after corridor, eventually reaching a set of halls full of rooms with rice paper sliding doors. A few women were in their rooms doing one thing or another, but most were vacant. Tadashi eventually lead them to one of the larger rooms, empty but spacious. It had a facing glass door that lead to one of the court yards. It was furnished comfortably, but lacked personal effects.

"This will be your room. Permanently." He stepped aside and allowed Hiro to enter, looking at her new room. He dismissed Jin, letting him know his services weren't needed any longer and stepped inside the room with Hiro, leaving his shoes outside and closing the door behind him.

Hiro timidly surveyed her surroundings, looking around with wide eyes, hands clutched together near her dress.

"I will leave you to tend to yourself then..." Tadashi turned to go but stopped, hand hovering just above the door handle. "I... I am sorry for everything that's happened to you today... I'm sure it means nothing to you, but I hate bloodshed and violence. But I cannot undo what has been done, and I can only offer what I am giving to you. Please consider the amount of generosity I am showing you and keep that in mind for the days to come." And with that he stepped out, sliding his shoes back on and shutting the door quietly.

He waited outside for several minutes, a decision he greatly regretted, for as soon as he picked up on the muffled sobbing from inside the room, his heart broke in two.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The lyrics are from Various Storms and Saints by Florence + The Machine
> 
> Thank you for reading.

**Author's Note:**

> Im sorry everything gets worse before it gets better


End file.
